Confessions to My Father
by malaleen
Summary: After returning to Storybrooke from the Enchanted Forest, Emma and David have a talk about her experiences and fears regarding magic.


**Author's Notes:** This little story is the third in a short series I've written about Emma. While you don't need to read the prior stories to read this one, it's a bit more background into how I view Emma after returning to Storybrooke. The order is as follows:

1. Mother and Son Chat

2. Finding Common Ground

3. Confessions to My Father

There will hopefully be a fourth fic with Regina, and fifth fic involving a little conversation regarding a hat. Please know that all mistakes found in this fic are mine, and mine alone as I am still beta-less at the moment.

And lastly, I do not own the characters, nor the universe I'm playing in.

* * *

She hadn't been back at the Sheriff's office since the day she and Snow had been pulled through the portal to the wilds of the Enchanted Forest. It looked the same as it always had, except this time it was clear that both desks within the office were once again being put to use. David had told her about assuming the role of Sheriff in her absence, but they had yet to talk about what would happen now that she had returned. Maybe she should consider getting help for the office. Ruby had helped her out in the past, but now that the curse was broke, things were very different here in Storybrooke.

Emma took a seat at her desk, wondering where she should start first. She knew she needed to get caught up on all the cases and issues facing the town since the curse broke. She should have asked David to come to the office with her. He had offered to go with her during breakfast with Snow and Henry, but she had waved him off saying he needed time with his wife too, as she had spent several weeks alone with her in the Enchanted Forest.

Emma knew she would be facing challenges she wasn't sure she ready for now that magic had returned to Storybrooke. She now had firsthand knowledge of just how dangerous things could be with people who practiced magic. Thankfully there were only a handful of people in this town who were capable of magic, so she didn't have to worry about the entire down going up in flames from magical reasons. Of course, two of the most knowledgeable magicians were probably the most dangerous. How she was going to deal with Regina and Gold was something she would need to figure out, and fast. Dropping her head on the desk, she groaned in frustration over the sheer amount of things she was going to have to deal with now.

"Looks like you could use a hand after all," David's voice called out from the doorway to her office.

Emma looked up to see him leaning against the doorframe, giving her a lopsided smile. "Yeah, I guess I could," she confessed. "I'm sort of overwhelmed by it all, to be honest."

David walked over to her, taking a seat in the chair in front of her desk. "What's troubling you?"

"It's the whole magic thing," she sighed. Part of her didn't want to confess her weaknesses to him, but another part desperately wanted to share all her doubts and fears with this man, her father. "I'm worried about how to deal things now that Gold brought back magic to Storybrooke. I'm going to have to admit my experiences with magic so far haven't really been enjoyable."

"I suppose not," David replied, looking at her intently. "What's worrying you the most?"

Emma didn't know David as well as she knew Snow prior to the curse being broken, and now she would have to get to know Prince Charming as well as the David Nolan. The little time she had to witness her father in action, she had been struck by the quality of leadership within him. Taking a deep breath, she began. "I just don't know how to control it. I saw some scary shit thanks to magic in the Enchanted Forest thanks to Cora, and what if something like that that happens here in Storybrooke? How do you fight it?"

"You and your mother told us a little about what happened back there, but maybe could you fill me in more. I know the two of you were trying to sugar coat things for Henry's sake, and Snow didn't want to talk about it last night afterwards," David said with an inquiring expression.

She didn't really want to talk about what happened with Cora, but for some reason she felt she needed to tell him about all that had happened. She began with meeting with the person Snow had believed to be Lancelot, but ended up being Cora in disguise. She explained about finding the magic wardrobe and being forced to torch it to keep Cora away from Storybrooke, and then returning to the Safe Haven only to find the entire village slaughtered by having their hearts ripped out. Explaining Princess Aurora and Mulan was relatively easy for Emma, but David felt the need to interject when he learned of Emma and Snow meeting the infamous Captain Hook.

"Captain Hook was in the Enchanted Forest?" David questioned.

"Yeah, he's a real dick," Emma replied. "I knew he was up to no good when he tried to sell us some bull about how he escaped Cora's wrath, but he confessed all after I tied him up to a tree and called for the ogres."

"You had to deal with ogres?" David choked out in a strangled tone, his eyes wide in shock.

"Yeah, was almost eaten by one, actually," Emma nodded, thinking back. "Thank god Snow is so good with a bow and arrow. She took the ogre down like it was nothing. Honestly, I was useless at first in the forest, and I was glad that Mulan and Snow were there to keep us all safe."

David had a pained look on his face at the thought of his family coming face to face with ogres, but he knew Snow and apparently this Mulan could handle themselves. Deciding to change the subject, he prompted, "So Hook?"

"He needed us to climb a beanstalk to retrieve the compass Cora wanted and we needed to get back to Storybrooke. I hate to admit it, but we did work well together facing the Giant, who by the way was not evil at all. I felt really bad for him being all alone up there," Emma explained.

"Hook, Emma," David implored.

"Well, I really didn't trust Hook, so I left him chained up in the Giant's castle, after having the Giant agree to free him after ten hours," Emma continued, thinking back on what had happened. "Even though Hook swore allegiance with us, I couldn't take the chance that he would betray us later. Turns out I was right after all, as he not only continued to work with Cora, but also took Aurora's heart."

"Hook took her heart?" David exclaimed, looking horrified that the girl who had tried so hard to communicate with Henry had such a horrible thing done to her.

"Well, in his defense, he did give it back before it could fall into the open portal. Mulan hopefully returned it back to her. By the Way, that whole heart thing is creepy," Emma said with a shudder. She thought for a moment about whether she should mention what Cora tried to do to her heart, and decided that she might as well go all out with her story. "Cora tried to take my heart, too."

"She WHAT?" David shouted, standing up and rushing over to grab her shoulders to get good look at her. "Are you alright? What happened? Were you hurt?"

"Dad, calm down," Emma assured, grabbing his hands to calm him. "She wasn't able to take it. In fact, somehow I was able to blast her back with magic of my own."

David gave her a long look, and then pulled her up into his arms for a hug. "I'm so glad she wasn't able to hurt you, Emma. I wish I could have been there to protect you."

Emma tentatively hugged him back, strangely feeling okay at this unexpected gesture. Desperately needing to change the subject, she remembered her conversation with Henry the night before and pulled away. "So I hear you're giving knight training?"

David allowed her to pull back reluctantly, but sat back to lean against the desk. "That's right. I figured the grandson of a prince should have some proper training in how to be a knight."

"Could you maybe teach me as well?" Emma suddenly asked. She glanced up at David seeing the shock in his face. To be honest, she was sort of surprised by the request too. "After all I went through lately, fighting a dragon, giants, walking dead, and pirates, I think it's time I get some proper knight training as well. That last battle with Hook was sheer luck on my part, and I want to be able to hold my own again if ever the situation warrants."

David could tell there was a lot more that happened in the Enchanted Forest than Emma was ready to tell, but he figured that he could get the rest of the story from his wife later. Giving Emma a grin, he replied, "I'd be happy to. Should I get you a wooden sword as well?"

"Uh, maybe I'll just borrow Henry's," she muttered, uncomfortable with the situation. She really wasn't used to asking others for help, especially her family.

"You know, you called me dad earlier," David said in a thoughtful tone.

"I-I did?" Emma croaked, surprised by his statement. "I-I didn't realize...I mean."

"I wish you would call me dad all the time," David said with a sad tone. "But I know you're not ready yet."

"I-I'm not, not yet," she confessed, uncomfortable about finding herself in this position yet again today. But somehow it was different with David than it was with Snow. It was still weird to have her father be essentially the same age as her, but she hadn't known David as well as she had Mary Margaret, so the jump to father seemed a bit easier. Still, she wasn't ready for that step quite yet. "I already spoke with Mary Margaret about this, and she's trying to understand. I'm going to try to call her Snow from now on, but I'm going to admit it's going to take me time to remember your Enchanted Forest identities. Do you want me to call you James or Charming?"

"Emma," David began, wishing everything could be different, but realizing that even though Emma didn't realize it, her calling him dad in the heat of the moment was a huge step for her. "Emma, honestly I don't really care what you call me. Charming was nickname your mother gave me long ago as a joke, and it doesn't matter if you call me James or David. I just want to have a chance to get to know you."

Emma looked at him closely for a long moment, and then decided, "I think I'm going to continue with David, if that's okay? And I was wondering since you did such a good job filling in for me while I was gone, you might like to stay as deputy?"

"You want me to stay?" David asked, surprised at the offer.

"Yeah, I do," Emma confessed. "I'm sort of lost right now with all the identity changes that happened with the curse being broken and I figured that you would be the best person to help me out. After all, you were their Prince."

"That I was," he responded. "And I'd be happy to help you out."

"Good," Emma said with a smile. "You'll need to catch me up on everything that happened here in town, but first I have a bone to pick with you."

David looked at his daughter, and recognized the look on her face. It was one that Snow had whenever she was cross with him. "Oh, what would that be?"

"So what's this I hear about you getting my son a horse?"


End file.
